Art News

Edinburgh College of Art Reveals Mystery Behind Cast of an Unknown Criminal

EDINBURGH.- For generations, the cast of an unknown criminal dubbed with the mock Latin title of ‘Smugglerius’, has been used in the teaching of anatomical drawing at Edinburgh College of Art with no real knowledge of its provenance. This exhibition, developed as part of the ongoing restoration of the Edinburgh College of Art Cast Collection, at last reveals the man behind the cast. In addition to detailed research which examines the history of the cast and the life of the man it was most likely moulded from, the exhibition includes original artworks created in response to Smugglerius and the theme of a past unveiled. Dating from 1854, the College Smugglerius is a copy of an original écorché – a figure with the skin and fat removed to expose the muscles and tendons – made in 1776